1112 Tasting Notes

I found out because I was so very crazybusy today that Earl Grey Supreme makes a great cold brewed iced tea (my kettle water cooled before I could pour, then I left the cool water in my cup for hours before I realized it!). This is a mixed blessing, because now I’ll bet you anything that I will cold brew some Earl Grey Melange at home and say “Ach! This isn’t as good as Earl Grey Supreme iced!!!!! There is no going back!” and be a brat about it!

Seriously though – this is so smooth and delicious cold, and that little tart citrus peel edge works so well cold. I will be a semi brat, and finish my big tin of Earl Grey mixtures for iced tea, but then lead the luxe life and only use Earl Grey Supreme after that :)

Preparation

its been my personal crusade to convince others to try cold steeping as a positive alternative to traditional hot/cold brew methods. The cold steeping draws out complexity and diminishes bitterness and increases the sweet profile. Too often I get wow’s from people who try it and yet find people willing to settle for the bitter-stale bite of CTC prebagged teas, whose directions ask you to stew them and chill them – exposing them to 2 points of bacterial loving temps and that shorten the shelf life of tea… If you also like Earl Grey, if you know how to make a simple syrup, use this tea and I bet it would make a wonderful compliment to pour over waffles, prosciutto, and blackberries

I am completely enamored of this tea. I’m having it with milk and sugar, as the blurb on the Culinary Teas site suggests, and POW. Right through the heart. Love at first sip. It tastes like excellent tea and wine and incense in the best way possible. Faintest spiced wine and really good true tea. I finished my cup alarmingly fast, but the flavor is lingering in my mouth in the most pleasurable way. Mmmmm!

I am amazed that 4 oz of this tea only costs $8! This is one of those rich and unique ones that I was almost afraid to look up, because I thought it would surely be at least $20 for 4oz. I have an ounce of it, but it is sooooooo getting ordered when I’m nearly done! I’ve never perused the Culinary Teas website before and holy moly, they have so many teas that are attracting me – better to not look – I AM on a lockdown! :)

A classic milk ‘n sugar breakfast blend! I love the fact that it has both Indian and Chinese (Yunnan) teas in it, and I can taste that chewy Yunnan delightfulness quite well! It is really hitting the spot on this sleepy day. I’m trying to find the energy for a hike, and I think it may just be in this cup!

Preparation

I decided I could go for a little more tea this afternoon, and thought that one of the Royal Wedding sachets that ashmanra sent would be a lovely treat! Thank you ashmanra!

I taste cocoa! which morphs into coconut – then I taste white tea. I’m not getting a nutty taste, or any rosey tastes. Maybe a little vanilla.

My taste buds are little stubborn mules, or maybe barbarians, or foreigners! but they kept on saying, “This is not black tea! Don’t think you can trick us! We don’t really like anything but black tea! Maybe an oolong every now and again, even a green oolong, but that’s it!!”

Yes, I can taste that white tea. I get a bitter taste, and an astringent tongue. I don’t think this is a quality issue, but a preference issue. I am just not a white tea person (unless it’s loaded with black currants! But I digress!).

I think anyone who loves white tea, and loves flavors would adore this tea. It’s done really well, like a French one! Subtle! My second steep is mostly white tea with just a touch of flavor. I do like it, but it’s not that OMG true love that I experience with black teas. It’s just not the way my barbarian foreigner tastebuds are wired ;)

(If you are wondering what I mean about the barbarians and foreigners -

Until China’s Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD), only green tea was produced and consumed. It was during this dynasty, however, that oxidation was discovered and the Chinese realized that it could completely change their tea production. While the tea makers considered this newly created tea fit only for “barbarian foreigners,” it solved one of their major problems.

Green tea did not travel well over long distances and had the propensity to mold. When the tea was allowed to oxidize and then baked, the resulting leaf could retain its quality longer. This black tea was far more suitable for the lengthy transport to Tibet and Mongolia. This type of tea is now the most popular tea in most of the world beyond Asia.

I re-organized my tea shelves my type…That taught me just how many black teas I have. Though I do have a sizable amount of herbals as well, for those “non-tea” tea days, I’m not a big fan of green…or white.

Chocolate and almonds. Two of my favorite things in the world, and two of my favorite things paired! The aroma of the dry leaves is so nutty and pleasant. Even though it was almost 9pm I was willing to pay the price of having a caffeinated tea!!!! Readers, it was worth it. Chocolatey and rich with almonds. If I had to bet, I would say an Indian black tea base. It was a little weak (which is a good thing at 9pm!!!) – next time I’m going to add a little more leaves to the pot. All you need for dessert with some milk and sugar. I would serve this to company in a heartbeat!

I received the most A-MAZING package from Doulton yesterday! You are going to be seeing many, many THANKYOUFORTHISTEADOULTON tasting notes in my log in the next few…months! at least months! :)

So, Doulton. Thank you for this tea!!!!

It is tied together in a little bunch, but is not “blooming” – it just gets…plump. It does not scare me. :) It smells great – sweet and tea-y – and it is DELICIOUS. Imagine Golden Monkey with a little extra attitude…and a bottle of honey! I read that one puff makes 6-8 oz of tea, so I was careful not to put too much water in my brewer cup, and was rewarded with an absolute elixir! LOVE that golden mouthfeel.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Doulton!

Preparation

This is one of our favorites! Very Golden Monkey-ish but a little different. And sold out at the moment…big sigh. Several things in my cart are listed as sold out right now. Can’t wait until I get to click submit order! This one resteeps pretty well. Did you try it?

I was trying to learn something new at work, and had one of those frazzle dazzle mornings that turned to afternoon before I knew it. This was my company :) Delicious pomegranate taste! Delicious tie guan yin type oolong! BUT – perhaps they are like two perfectly good people who just don’t get on together – maybe they would be better apart. I kept on wanting to taste the green oolong alone, and also have a fruity tisane – alone! (in fact I’m drinking Tazo Passion as I write this note because I was really enjoying the fruity!) Really nice high quality tea – and I’m even looking forward to drinking the other sachet ashmanra so generously sent!! but not an OMG run out and get it one for me. I love the flavors but I’d like then in two separate cups ;)

Preparation

I had some of this today, and AGAIN was craving a little more assertiveness. For my second steep I added a half teaspoon of Harney & Sons Hao Ya A and was so pleased with the resulting flavor that I mixed in the rest of the dry leaves from my sample packet into the Emperor’s tin! The Emperor was not happy about this but I have opposable thumbs, and he does not, so I can do what I want!! ;)

Preparation

What a great idea! I have Hao Ya A already in my “cart” for next time. Harney’s has double the flavor of the one from Southern Season. I love Emperor’s Red but I expect it would be very good mixed like this. I’ll have to try it.

The house next to ours caught on fire, and burned to the ground. The firemen had to break into our house to make sure it wasn’t on fire, and our dog bit the firefighter in the face! Thankfully we were able to get his rabies vaccination certificate and all is as well as can be for our home, and none of our neighbors were injured, although they lost everything. It was very sobering and scary.

The Queen is keeping me even keeled and chin up as I plow through miles of work now that I’m finally back in the office today (as well as trying to keep up with scheduling repair people, insurance people, etc etc etc). The little bit of smoke in this tea is like the little bit of the virus they put in a vaccine. I’m reminded of the other side of smoke, and the impermanence and fragility of all this worldly stuff. Appreciate each day, each moment. You never know.

Profile

Bio

I love to cook, bake, read, paint, knit, do needlework, and garden. I need my coffee, but I LOVE my tea. I work at an Art School, and attend a large public university doing post-bac work (my BA is in English). I’m interested in the liminal spaces between art and craft, the academic and the practical, the individual and community, and the old and the new. I’m currently exploring these ideas through the disciplines of education, literature, history, and psychology.

I enjoy writing tasting notes, but have decided not to numerically rate teas as of 9/14/10. For an explanation, see my looooong tasting note about Mountain Malt from the Simple Leaf.

My favorites:
Chinese black teas
A good “milk and sugar” English style black
Earl Grey (classic, and in all variations!)
Vanilla teas (classic, and in all variations!)
Jasmine, Rose, Violet and other froofy, flowery teas!
An Occasional Oolong
Flavored Rooibos
Herbal Tisanes